


The Dangers of Mysterious Powders

by OneThumpAway



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: :) lots of crying, Angst, Beginning prompt by _writing_ideas_ on IG, Crying, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Injury (minor), Inspired by Luescris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneThumpAway/pseuds/OneThumpAway
Summary: Hesitantly, Raph draws his own weapons, fully making sure that it's clear it's for defense only. He glances over at Donnie and Mikey, the former hunched over something on his wrist, then turns back to his distressed brother. “It's me, Leo—”He cuts off when Leo growls, literally growls, and adjusts his sword so that he's in an attack position. Why is he shaking?-Idea/Concept for this story by Luescris!
Comments: 16
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Luescris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luescris/gifts).



“What did I say about the panic buttons?”

“Only to use them in an emergency.”

“Exactly.”

“And?”

“How is you needing sushi an emergency?”

Leo makes grabby hands at Raph, who begrudgingly hands him the food. He licks his lips as he opens the package, flopping on the couch. He pops one in his mouth, speaking with his mouth full. “‘S my comfort food! I need a lot of comfort right now, someone tried to kill me ten minutes ago!”

The snapper stares at him for a few seconds, his confusion slowly being replaced by panic. “What?! Why didn't you lead with that?”

Leon just waves him off. “The sushi is important right now. I'm very stressed.”

Raph's arms cross and he glares at Leo. “ _ Who _ tried to kill you?”

“Uhhhh… I dunno? Foot Lieutenant?” 

“F… Foot Lieutenant?!”

“Maybe Brute? One of the Foot faces. Or both. Or maybe it was that crazy girl?” As he speaks, the striped turtle casually gestures to his right bicep, where Raph finally notices a large gash.

“D—Dude, that looks bad! And… you don't even know?”

“How could I? They blinded me!”

Raph squints at him, then holds his hand out. “Gimme your first aid kit. Now.”

Leon feels around his belt, never looking down at it, then unbuckles it and hands his elder brother the kit. “I don't think they followed me, though. I didn't hear any footsteps.”

Raph just glares at him, sitting next to him on the couch and getting him into a comfortable position to clean his wound. “Where was it?” 

“Right by my stripe, it's still bleeding—”

“The fight!” The elder growls and sprays the wound with disinfectant, causing Leo to cringe and flinch away. “Leo! Let me get this cleaned so I can interrogate you!”

“You don't need to interrogate me! The fight was, uhh… I dunno, on some rooftop.” Leo pops some more sushi in his mouth as Raph wraps his arm. “I can show you where eventually, I just… should wait for that stupid powder to get out of my eyes. Hope I didn't breathe in too much…” 

“LEEEOOOOOO!” 

A surprised squeak comes from the injured turtle as suddenly his only younger brother is barreling into him with open arms. “You're the one who pushed the panic button right I know it was you but I'm asking and now I'm asking if you're okay  _ are you okay? _ ”

The slider smiles and wraps his arms around his obviously distressed brother, patting his shell soothingly. “I'm fine, bud. Just a cut. And a little blinding powder.”

“Blinding powder?” a new voice asks, and Don comes strolling in, obviously not as worried as Mikey, if at all. “That seems  _ mildly _ concerning.” 

“Mildly!” Raph exclaims, exasperated. “That's bad! Real bad!”

“Oh, I'm sure it was just for them to cheat or something, dude! No biggie!” 

Miguel holds on tighter to Leo as the elder speaks, whimpering quietly. “Yes, biggie, dude! How'd you even get home if you're blind?”

“Portal, little bro! Zip, zap, and I'm crashing on something in Donald's lab!”

“My—!”

“Kidding! I landed on the couch and  _ then _ I used my panic button, so I was already good! I needed my sushi, though!” The slider sweats a bit, but no one questions him further on that. 

Raph snatches a piece of sushi and shoves it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before he speaks. “Have Don scan your face for mystic energy in the powder and then we'll go to bed and see if you're still blind tomorrow morning. If you are then we're gonna do some actual testing, cuz—”

“Cuz temporary blinding powder is only supposed to work for a few hours at most, yeah, yeah. I'm the medic, remember?” Leo rolls his eyes, patting Mike's shell once more before letting him go. 

“Yeah, I know. Just… be more careful next time. Don, scan ‘im.” The snapper claps once. “I'm heading to bed. Don't stay up too late.” 

“Sure, boss man, just let me grab my goggles from my lab…” 

“AAAAAAAAAaaaaaactually I think I might have crashed in Don's lab thinking about it I'll go get ‘em be right back!” Before any of them can protest, Leo's up off the couch, nearly tripping over his own two feet trying to navigate his way to the lab, blind. Mike blinks after him for a second before following, leaving Don standing by the couch awkwardly. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHA LEO YOU BROKE THE ONE THING WE NEED!”

Needless to say, Leo doesn't get the mystic scan that night. 

\----------

Begrudgingly, Leo is allowed to sleep on his own that night, although Mikey does promise to check up on him every few hours. 

He doesn't. 

And if anyone can tell how tired Leo looks the next morning, or how he doesn't seem to be able to pay attention as they plan for their patrol, or how _ goddamn jumpy _ he is, no one says anything. 


	2. Chapter 2

“You're sure this is where you fought them, dude?” Miguel asks from where he's perched on Raph's shoulders. 

“Yes! The blood is still here!” Leo gestures to the rooftop, where the faint impression of blood is visible on the grey concrete. “And why are we here anyway? They're not gonna be here again.”

“We need to scan for traces of the powder they got you with, remember? Since I couldn't fix my goggles before you washed it off?” their purple-banded brother asks in a deadpan tone, giving his brother a pointed look. “Pay attention when we're going over this stuff.”

His twin glares at him for a second, then crosses his arms, looking to the side. “Sorry,” he apologizes in a suddenly somber tone. He yawns, then shakes his head and perks up again, planting on that signature smile. “Anyway! Obviously if there was anything left here the wind would have blown it away by now, right? What's the point of—”

“Found a few traces!” 

Immediately Mike is next to the second oldest, although how he hopped off Raph's shoulders so quickly no one can say. “Really? That's great! What do we need with it?”

“We need to check if it did anything to his system, Mikey,” the genius answers automatically. 

Leo clenches his fists slightly at that answer, because _how come Mikey doesn't get told to pay attention but he does,_ but says nothing on the matter. 

Which isn't to say Raph didn't see him. 

“Dude, nothing got into my system! I'm not blind anymore, and I'm not sick!” the slider says instead. 

“Well, I'm disappointed in the Foot either way. Cheating like that.” Don shakes his head. 

Something snaps in Leo when he hears that, his mind not registering anything said after “disappointed.” He feels a familiar anger seeping into his veins. “ _What’d_ you say?”

He feels all his brothers’ eyes on him, but he doesn't care. He is _not_ a disappointment. 

“I said I'm _disappointed_ in the _Foot._ ”

There it is again, that twang in his mind. Why is he mad? What's happening, why is he reacting like this? It has nothing to do with him, why—

His hands start to tremble, almost imperceptibly, and he gasps as suddenly Raph's hands are encasing his. “Hey, bro. It's okay. What happened?”

“I-I…” Why can't he form any words? He's looking at the ground now, so no one can see his face. He doesn't want anyone to see his face, his eyes, and tears are starting to form but _why?_ Why did his self esteem suddenly drop? He's _not_ a disappointment, no one said that!

“...Maybe there _was_ something in that powder. C'mon, let's get you home. Mission not a failure, right, even if we only got a little bit of the powder?”

_Fuck._

Leo pulls away from Raph harshly, still looking down, not even hearing Don say something about not needing more of the powder than the amount they have. His vision is tinted, why _, why?_ Why is that anger building up, no one has _said anything to him yet—_

_“You screwed up again!”_

NO, he's _not_ dealing with this, _no!_

“Leo, what's—”

 _“You can't listen, you can't plan, what_ **_can_ ** _you do?”_

Who's saying that? Who's touching him, who— “Don't touch me!”

_“You're just a fucking screw-up. That's it. That's all you are—”_

Stop. _Stop._

_“That's all you ever have been—”_

Is that _Raph?!_

 _“And that's all you ever_ **_will be_** _.”_

He draws his sword, finally looking up at his brothers in front of him. They're mocking him, they're _mocking him_ . After all he's done for them! “Shut _up!_ ” 

Raph's directly in front of him, drawing his tonfas for the ready. _“Too weak to handle a little fuckin’ teasing? And it's not like I'm lyin’. I can't even imagine, being such a—”_

A low growl tears through the blue-clad teen, his vision swimming, tinted an almost hot pink and blurred with tears. He raises his sword in a ready position, and his arms are _shaking_ as he tries not to sob. He just—He needs them to _shut up_. 

He charges at his eldest brother. 

“ _I am not… A FAILURE!_ ” 

\-----------

Raph gasps as Leo pulls away from him, blinking as his second youngest brother starts to mutter under his breath. “D...Donnie! Did you get a scan of that powder yet?”

“All I can tell right now is that it's mystic, I don't know what it did!” Leo's twin calls back, lifting up his goggles to look at Leo in worry, Mikey's expression mirroring his own.

“Leo, bud, c'mon, let's get ya—” The snapper tries to place a gentle hand on his distressed brother's shoulder, only for Leo to pull away again, harsher this time.

“Don't touch me!”

“Leo, listen to m—!”

The elder gasps as Leo draws his sword, now looking up at them. There's a dull hot pink glow in his narrowed, teary eyes, and he seems to be shaking. “Shut _up!”_

Hesitantly, Raph draws his own weapons, fully making sure that it's clear it's for defense only. He glances over at Donnie and Mikey, the former hunched over something on his wrist, then turns back to his distressed brother. “It's _me_ , Leo—”

He cuts off when Leo growls, literally _growls_ , and adjusts his sword so that he's in an attack position. Why is he shaking? 

“I am not… A FAILURE!” the younger screams, launching himself at Raph. 

Said snapper holds up his tonfas to block the sharp weapon, bracing his feet against the rooftop so that he isn't pushed back. “STOP! Leo, no one said you're a—”

“You always undermine me!” Tears are flowing freely down Leo's face now as he continues to swing his sword at Raph, his movements sloppy but still powerful. “I do my best to try and protect you guys and—and this is what I _get?!_ ” He lets out a strangled sob, stopping his attacks momentarily to squeeze his eyes shut. 

Raph feels his heart absolutely break in half at how Leo speaks, at how _broken_ and _defeated_ he sounds. It breaks at how his sobs tear through his throat and how he shakes, and all he wants to do is hug him and never let him go but—but he doesn't know if that'd help him right now. 

(by Luescris)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://tmntlovingleocreates.tumblr.com/post/624196790257893376/this-is-based-off-a-concept-that-luescris-came-up 
> 
> Yes i made fanart for this too SDLSHFGLDKFG


	3. Chapter 3

Leo tries to catch his breath as he stares at Raph's blurry form. It seems… It seems different. Maybe it's the lack of pupils, maybe it's the sharper teeth, or the way it seems like they're more like shadows than his brothers. 

_“Why should we even stick around? I know_ **_I_ ** _don't want to deal with you.”_

Wait… Wait, what? Don't leave, they can't—They're going to leave him oh no—

He's nothing without them, they can't—they can't _leave!_ The thought of attacking all but disappears from his mind, and he shakily puts a hand out to try and convince them _not to go_ —

_Fwip_

Leo lets out a startled gasp, immediately grabbing at his arm instead and looking down at it. Raph looks over at Donnie, who's aiming his tranquilizer gun in his twin’s direction. “Sorry, bro. This is for your own good.” He sounds strangely somber as he says this, Mikey next to him looking close to tears. 

They all watch as Leo shakily collapses to his knees, letting out one last sob before he falls forward, unconscious, sword falling out of his hand and clanging a few feet away. 

None of them move, everything seeming eerily silent despite all the hustle of New York right below them. 

“...Home. Now.” That's all Raph says as he picks up Leo’s limp form, sitting him on his shoulders so that the younger's head is resting on his own, not caring about any tears that may fall on his red mask. Leo's breath hitches every now and then, but Raph tries not to let it get to him as he sets off towards the sewers, and eventually his other brothers follow. Miguel picks up Leo's sword on his way and sticks close to Donnie as tears trickle quietly down his face and discolor his mask. 

\------------

A low groan comes from Leo as consciousness starts to return to him. He reaches up and grabs his head, opening one eye carefully and looking at the ceiling. 

Don’s lab…?

“Leo!”

Immediately he tenses, scrambling to sit up and press himself against the wall. All those insults flash through his mind, fuzzy and dark but still present, and he brings his knees to his plastron, wrapping his arms around them and keeping his eyes on his eldest brother.

“Easy, bro, ‘s just me…” Raph assures him gently, hands up. 

Leo doesn’t respond, just watching. He doesn’t know what he’s gonna do, but he’s-he’s scared because he doesn’t-he doesn’t know how much more of this he can take. His ego is only so big. 

“...What happened back there? Last night, on the roof. What was that?” the elder asks, not too loudly. 

Leo blinks at him, then he grits his teeth. “What the _fuck?!_ You're the one who—!” He cuts off with a growl, swinging his legs over the cot he sits on so he can run if he needs and—and he shouldn't be _scared of his own brother why did this have to happen like this—_ “You-You're the one who fucking— No. No, no, fuck this, fuck you. I'm going—somewhere else—” 

Raph grabs his wrist right as he stands and he gasps sharply, turning to glare at the red-masked turtle. “Let. Me. _Go,_ you _asshole!_ ”

“No! I don't know what you saw last night, or what happened, but—but I don't like seeing you like this! I don't want you to be scared of me and I want to help you!” Raph holds tight despite Leo's attempts to get away. 

Tears are starting to form in the slider’s eyes again, _dammit!_ He doesn't need help from this _asshole_ , he needs—God, what _does_ he need? An apology? No. No, he _might_ be able to forgive him if he can just—just _stop being so_ **_mean!_** “ _Let me_ **_go_** ** _!_** _”_

“No! I want to know why you said what you said last night!” the snapper yells. He usually tries not to yell but Leo just—he won't cooperate!

“What _I_ said?! How about all the stuff you—”

“You said that you're not a failure! But no one _said_ you were—”

Leo lets out a strangled yell, his irises starting to glow that hot pink again. It's brighter now. He uses his other hand to slap Raph's hand away from his wrist. “I SAID _LET ME GO!”_

The snapper hisses in pain and loosens his grip for just a second, but it's long enough for Leo to slip from his grasp and run from the lab. 

Don looks over from the kitchen, where he's trying to explain what happened to Splinter and help Mikey understand, and his eyes widen. Immediately he's out of his seat, running towards the common area, intercepting his brother just in time. 

“Stop! Stop _stop_ let me g—” Leo sobs, struggling against his twin weakly. 

Donnie's grip stays strong, arms wrapped around Leo's torso from behind. When he speaks, his voice is calm but shaky. “Leo, listen to me. I'm right here.”

“I _fucking_ know that, I don't _want_ you to be! I want you guys to just—just s-stop _insulting me is that so much to ask—”_ The younger of the two shakes in his grasp, clawing desperately at Don's arms. He doesn't notice their other brothers and Splinter approaching them cautiously.

“Leo! Listen to me, no one was saying anything! It's the powder, I analyzed it—”

“You're _lying!”_ Leo screams, tears streaming down his face as his irises glow brighter. His sobs get louder as thoughts race through his head, nails digging hard into his brother’s arm. 

Don grits his teeth against Leo's _surprisingly sharp nails wow he's in pain_. Instead he holds tighter, his spider arms coming out of his battle shell to hand Mikey something. The youngest blinks, then nods, walking in front of Leo, who glares hotly at him. 

“Tell him to let me _go!”_ he begs, mask absolutely _soaked_ with salty tears. He uses the heels of his hands to try and wipe them, his mask coming away from his eyes and ending up on his forehead, exposing his baggy eyes and the dried tears around them, stripes slightly discolored from the wetness. 

They're going to leave him, he's a failure and a screw-up and he doesn't _deserve_ them and _they're going to leave and he's going to be alone he's nothing without them—_

“I will! I will, just look! Please?” the box turtle pleads, holding up the phone Don gave him. Leo gives one last attempt at escape before seemingly tiring out, almost every exhale coming out in a breathy sob as he tries to watch the screen, fingers still digging into Don’s arm. 

An eight year old Mikey is directly in front of the camera, tongue sticking out in concentration. He suddenly gasps and smiles, showing off his tooth gap, then stands up and steps back. _“I got it!”_

He runs a few feet back and now Leo can see they're all there. Nine year old Don is up on top of ten year old Raph's shoulders, babbling about some science thing, and the elder appears to be listening; trying to, anyway. Nine year old Leo is standing to the side, kind of rubbing his arm and not looking at the camera. 

Leo remembers this; this took place when he was still feeling out of place because of the markings on his face. He'd really registered them a few months before and never really wanted to be with his brothers for fear of them teasing him over them. 

The younger version of Mikey looks over at him, frowning a bit. He waddles over, tapping him on the shoulder repeatedly until Leo looks at him curiously. _“You gotta be inna picture, Leo!”_ the youngest grins, oblivious as always to his elder’s internal plight. 

_“I-I don't wanna ruin-”_ the nine year old tries, but then Raph is grabbing him and dragging him toward the middle of the frame with the rest of them. 

_“‘S a brother picture, ‘course ya gotta be in it!”_ The eldest smiles, showing off the snaggletooth that's just starting to grow in. The second youngest tries once again to refuse, but then Donnie's pulling him up on Raph's shoulders, he himself getting down. 

Leo watches the video with teary eyes, sobs starting to calm. His irises are slowly starting to dull back to their normal bright red, matching his stripes. 

He swallows as the video ends with one of them realizing it’s recording instead of being on a timer, squeezing his eyes shut. What’s wrong with him…? 

Their voices are echoing in his head, although his brothers look… normal, now. Solid. They’re all looking at him in concern, and Splinter, on the side, looks distressed, although contemplative. 

Donnie slowly starts to let his twin go, and with a startled gasp Leo takes his nails from his arm, his face tinting red. The younger then crosses his arms, looking at the ground as he sniffs, a few stray tears still running down his face. Before anyone can get a word out, he walks away, muttering something to himself as he grabs his sword from Don’s lab and then goes to his room.

No one follows, all just standing there in thought. Mikey looks close to tears himself, wrapping his arms around Raph’s left forearm and hiding his face.

Donnie looks to Splinter, eyes desperate. “Dad. Do you have _any_ information that could help us? You must’ve gotten wind of _something_ that would have this kind of effect when you lived in the Hidden City, right?” There’s something unfamiliar in his voice, which cracks once or twice as he speaks, although no one would point it out.

“...Big Mama often used powders like these to… _motivate_ fighters who did not want to fight any longer. There were several different kinds, but if what Purple told me is any indicator…” the rat puts a hand on his chin. “I think I know which one the Foot used on him.”


	4. Chapter 4

Leo sits on his bed, cross-legged, his unicorn plushie pulled to his chest as he tries to quiet his mind. What Donnie was trying to say, about the powder…

Is it true? 

A knock on his door startles him from his thoughts, and he gasps in surprise before wiping his eyes again, taking his mask off his forehead and throwing it on the floor with his pajamas and other dirty stuff he never picked up. “C-Come in.”

His door opens, and Mikey peeks his head in, eyes shining in the light from the elder's lamp. “Leo…?” he whimpers, taking another step in and closing the door behind him. 

“...Hi, Miguel,” the slider greets him quietly, still hugging the unicorn plushie. 

They stand there for a second in silence, and then Mikey slowly approaches his immediate older brother, twiddling with his fingers. 

Leo gasps as the box turtle suddenly advances and wraps him in a tight hug, not even minding the toy between them as he digs his face in Leo's shoulder. 

The striped turtle just blinks at first, but when he feels tears landing on his shoulder he sets the toy to the side and hugs his younger brother back, squeezing him tightly. 

Neither of them says anything, not when Leo starts shaking, not when his sobs start up again. Mikey just readjusts so he's sitting on his bed next to him, arms still around him, offering his silent reassurance. 

\---------

When Mikey wakes in the ungodly hours of the night, still in Leo’s room, having passed out there on his bed, the first thing he notices is that his brother isn’t there. Immediately he grabs for his phone to call him, only for Leo’s phone to vibrate on the nightstand next to him. 

“Leo!” he calls, peeking his head out into the hallway. When he sees no one, he steps out, starting to search around the Lair. 

His efforts are rewarded when he sees his brother sitting on one of the beanbags in the living room. He approaches cautiously, but makes sure Leo knows he's there. The elder doesn't outwardly react. 

As Mikey gets closer, he sees that Leon is curled into himself, knees to his plastron and arms wrapped around them. He's staring at the blank projector screen, eyes wide and his irises very minutely glowing that pink again. 

He's shivering, but Mike knows damn well it's not because he's cold. 

The younger sits down next to him on another beanbag, hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder. The maskless turtle startles, flinching away and looking toward him. Tears well up in his eyes and he reaches a hand out, mouth opening but nothing coming out other than a strangled squeak. 

“What is it, bro?” 

Leo swallows, then draws his hand back, looking at his younger brother with terrified eyes. “D-Don’t… Don't leave me. Pl-Please, _please_ , I-I _can't—_ ”

“Hey, hey, no one's gonna leave!” Michael assures him, patting his shoulder. Leo grabs the hand with his opposite hand, which starts to basically flutter, repeatedly tapping on Mikey's. Nothing new, but right now it’s worrying Mikey, who seems nervous as he speaks. “No one will leave you, I promise.”

“But-but he said—he said you guys— _why would you want to stick around?!”_ Leo demands, more tears starting to fall from his eyes as he stares into his brother's bright blue gaze. “I'm-I'm _nothing!_ I'm just a stupid—”

“ _Leo!_ ” Mike interrupts him, squeezing his shoulder to snap him out of his rant. “ _Who_ said that?”

“R-Raph did, he said—” A sob tears from the striped turtle’s throat and he grits his teeth, letting go of Mikey’s hand to wipe at his eyes with the heels of his clenched hands. This is why they want to leave, who wants to deal with him being such a—a baby, why—why can’t he just _stop being such a_ **_baby_** _?_

He gasps harshly as suddenly two large arms wrap around him, definitely too big to be Mikey. He just curls into himself more, almost hugging himself, not resisting as he’s picked up and Raph plops down on his own beanbag with him still in his grasp, the slider just readjusting so he’s not resting on any spikes. Mikey sits next to them, looking at Leo in worry still. 

“I’m—I’m _sorry_ , just _please—please don’t go—”_ the blue-loving one begs, not looking up at Raph for fear of what his reaction will be.

“Leo. Leo, no one’s leaving,” Raphael tries to tell him, his tone quiet but shaky. “Look at me, Leo, listen to me. We aren’t gonna leave.”

The turtle in question doesn’t move to obey, just shaking and squeezing his pink-tinted eyes shut. 

“I promise you. It’s just that powder, ‘s making you hallucinate. Donnie’s makin’ a cure for you right now, it’ll all be fine soon. Whatever you’re seeing, it’ll go away,” the eldest continues, stroking soothing circles on his distressed brother’s shell, prompting Leo to relax just the smallest bit. “Dad said there were trigger words that set off the stuff, do you know what happened?”

“I don’t… I-I think I might’ve h-had a nightmare… I-It was so _real_ , I’m not even—I'm not even sure if it was a _dream—_ ” Leo tenses again as his mind goes back to the night terror, and unconsciously he shrugs Raph’s hand off. 

“It _was._ Understand? I _promise_ , Leo, it was just a nightmare.”

The slider doesn’t outwardly react for a few seconds. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he starts relaxing again. He looks up at Raph with teary eyes, but the glowing pink is all but gone, and he nods. “O-Okay… Y-Yeah, just a dream…” 

The snapper just pats Leo’s head. “Yep, that’s right. Just a dream…” He debates asking something, and decides to leave it for now, at least until Leo’s more relaxed.

Mikey’s head hitting his bicep interrupts his thoughts, and he and his striped brother look over to see the youngest passed out, his mask kind of being pushed up onto his forehead, exposing the orange freckles riddled around his eyes. 

A quiet, watery chuckle comes from Leo, and the eldest looks down at him. “He was asleep already when I came out here,” the lanky turtle says with a smile.

“...He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, bro,” Raph responds quietly. 

“...That’s my fault, isn’t it…” It’s not even a question, the answer clearly known to Leo as he turns his head toward Raph’s plastron to hide it. 

The elder just cradles Leo closer to him, and the younger doesn't protest, and all Raph can think for a second it's how _small_ he looks, how this is so familiar. Too often had Leo come to him as a child, after having a nightmare or watching a scary movie that he shouldn’t have or even for no particular reason, just needing to be held. 

“Don't worry about it. You'll be better tomorrow; Don's out getting stuff for a cure right now,” he assures.

Leon tenses for just a second, then just melts again, nodding into his brother's plastron. “O-Okay… He can take care of himself…”

“Yep. He'll be just fine.”

They sit there for a bit, comforted by the sound of Mikey’s quiet snoozing. The light flickers a bit, and Leo flinches.

“...Why don’t you try’n fall back asleep, yeah? I bet Don’ll have that cure done by the time you wake up,” the snapper suggests a few minutes after that, patting Leo’s shell gently. 

There's no response. Raph looks down and sees his brother already asleep, no noise coming from him at all other than his quiet breathing. 

“G’night, little brother,” the eldest mumbles, settling and getting comfortable, ready to watch over his brothers for as long as needed. 


	5. Chapter 5

Leo kicks his legs idly as he settles on the cot he’d woken up on yesterday in Don’s lab, eyes half lidded and baggy. Mikey and Raph are still asleep in the living room, Leo having had to reassure Raph that he was fine and that he could sleep before getting up. 

“Alright, Leo,” Donnie says as he holds up a syringe, causing the blue-loving turtle to flinch a bit, “you’ll barely feel it. Just a quick prick and it’ll be over.”

Leon draws into himself, expression shifting to one of worry, but nods. 

“Okay, let me get the area cleaned so it doesn’t get infected…” Donald mutters something else to himself as he turns back to his desk.

Leo kicks his legs again, knowing it’ll take another minute for his brother to find something in his mess of a work area, just listening to his twin’s quiet rambling.

“Had to go to a bunch of different places to get this stuff…” Donnie looks through his drawers, sorting through a few papers and  _ where are his cleaning supplies? _ “Asked a bunch of useless—”

There’s a gasp, but he figures it’s the needle still making Leo nervous.

“—yokai merchants and they all sent me on a wild goose chase…” He stops, then grinds his teeth and grabs the sanitary wipes right off the middle of his desk. “I also screwed up—”

The sound of fabric rustling, and he purses his lips in confusion before continuing.

“—the formula a few times, but I'm… ninety-eight percent sure that this’ll wo—”

He cuts off when he turns back around to see his younger twin shaking where he's sitting, obviously trying to stay quiet. His fists are clenching around the cotton laid out on the bed, his irises glowing that hot pink as they stare at the ground, even brighter than before. 

“Leo—!”

“Just—” The striped teen cringes, screwing his eyes closed as he tries to  _ block out the voices _ because  _ they’re not real. _ “Just—Just do the thing, just  _ do it.” _

**_“Useless.”_ **

**_“Screw-up.”_ **

Leo bunches up the cotton more as Donnie identifies a vein and cleans the area where the needle will go.

**_“Stupid.”_ **

**_“Mistake.”_ **

Leo feels a prick in his arm right as all the voices—his  _ brothers’ _ voices—assault him simultaneously. His eyes fly open, his sclera glowing that hot pink for a few seconds before it starts to fade. 

… 

“... _ do? Nardo, it's okay now, they're gone.” _

_ Gone… His brothers?  _

He's being shaken. His vision clears and now he’s looking at Donnie, who has such an uncharacteristically scared expression on his face that the younger of the two has to blink to make sure he’s not hallucinating again. 

“You with me, bud?” the softshell asks quietly, eyes shining. 

_ Your brothers aren’t gone. Donnie’s here, he wants to make sure you’re okay. _

Leo nods wordlessly, swallowing as his eyes finally clear completely. Tears well up, but he wipes them away. 

“...Do you want a hug?” Donnie then asks. 

Leo nods again.

The purple-masked turtle slowly and carefully wraps his arms around his distressed brother, who’s much quicker to hug him back, patting his Battle Shell gently. If Donnie feels any tears land on his shoulder, or hears a sniffle or two or five, he doesn’t comment.

They stay like that for a few minutes, neither saying anything, until Leo’s patting slowly starts to slow, until it stops. The elder waits until he hears a quiet “snrrk” before laying his brother back down on the cot, draping a thin blanket over him. 

\---------

_ “Hoooooot soooouuuuup!” _

Leo grins in excitement, leaning forward from where he's sitting in front of Splinter’s recliner and staring at the projector screen with wide, sparkling eyes. Yes, he's seen this movie dozens of times, and yes, he always gets excited at this part. 

Mikey jumps and lands in a crouch next to him, holding a large bowl of heavily buttered and salted popcorn. The blue-masked turtle wraps an arm around him casually, taking a few pieces of popcorn and shoving them in his mouth as he watches Lou Jitsu take out a dozen snake warriors within seconds. 

“Ooh, are we watching  _ Lou Jitsu and the Viper King _ again?” Donnie plops down on the beanbag, immediately getting on his phone. 

“YES!” Raph comes tumbling in, landing on his plastron in front of Leo and Mikey. The former gives him a little pat on the head, eyes never tearing away from the screen. 

“Ah, my seventh favorite Lou Jitsu movie. The stunt men did great in this one.” Splinter flips over the back of his chair to sit, leaning forward and tapping on top of Leo's pointy head, prompting a larger grin from the second youngest. 

The action hero lands in front of a giant snake, both wearing confident smirks. 

The slider taps ecstatically on Mikey's leg after unwrapping his arm from the box turtle, leaning forward more so his head is almost touching the floor, hardly noticing as Raph shuffles to get out of his way. 

The snake throws its head back and laughs, much to the confusion of the Japanese man. _“Poor Lou Jitssssssu. You fell right into my trap._ _Your misssssssion issssss a_ ** _failure_** _!”_

Leo flinches back a bit, smile fading. Lou Jitsu falls into a pit, landing with a groan.

The movie seems like background noise to the slider all of a sudden, and for a few seconds he feels like he's going to be trapped in those memories  _ again _ and he doesn't  _ want _ to—

But then an arm wraps around him and pulls him tight. Then another, and there’s that familiar furry presence above him, reassuring him that everything is alright, and then all of them are being scooped up by the largest turtle, and that knot in Leo’s chest dissipates immediately, letting him relax and close his eyes. 

“Thanks, guys…” the slider mutters just as the action hero on the screen speaks. 

_ “Your measly pit will not hold me, snake!” _ Lou Jitsu yells, and Leo opens his eyes to watch. 

Lou kicks off the walls of the hole, launching himself up and landing in a crouch outside of the pit, much to the snake’s obvious displeasure. 

Leo brightens again. Maybe not as quickly as Lou Jitsu, but he'll be able to get out of this metaphorical hole the Foot dug for him. 

He snuggles back into his family's hold, taking comfort in the fact that they're right there, and so is he. 


End file.
